Name: We Have Known the Waters
Start: 2026-03-10T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Stephens Lake Reichmann Pavilion

African and African American cosmology both have treated water with reverence and as sacred. Water is not only considered the giver of life but is also home to a pantheon of their gods. In the realm of spirituality, water itself is a living entity, as such can punish (droughts) and bring lushness to villages (floods). There are many rituals and ceremonies that pay homage to the water spirits as places of purification, healing and regeneration that guide everyday life. In the seven African Orishas, two have dominion over aspects of water.
In this presentation, we'll look at rituals such as water drumming, crop blessings, and we'll end with a water ceremony.
Join us for an evening with Angela da Silva: a St. Louis-based cultural preservationist, independent historian, educator, playwright, performer, and pioneer of Black history tourism, launching the National Black Tourism Network in 1998.
Featured Image: Angela DaSilva in costume as "Lila," her slave persona in her presentation “Lila, the Life of a Missouri Slave.”
- 6 p.m. social hour
- 7 p.m. FREE presentation
- Register to join virtually on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fDhDVKI0RlWWspyEgV9Gyg
- Or watch on YouTube livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@MissouriRiverRelief/streams
Hosted by Missouri River Relief as part of the Big Muddy Speaker Series